Water cooler and filter.



Patented lune I8, |905. J. P. MELCHER.

WATER COOLER AND FILTER.

(Application led Aug'. 25, 1900.) (No Model.)

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THE onlus PETERS cn., mom-Erma., wAsnmuToN, u. c

i Fliilt JOSEPH P. MELOHER, OF BURLINGTON, IOVA.

WATER COOLER AND FILTER.

srnclrrcn'frron forming part of Letters :Patent No. 676,755, dated June 18, 1901.

Application filed August 25, 1900. Serial No. 2810l3 (N0 model.)

T0 @ZZ whom, t 77mg/ concern:

Be it known that I, JOSEPH P. MELCHER, a resident of Burlington, in the county of Des Moines and State of Iowa, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in a Oombined Water Cooler and Filter; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description ot' the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to an improvement in water-filters and combined water coolers and filters, one object of the invention being to provide a device of the above-mentioned character which will insure the perfect iiltration of water and after it has been cooled by the ice to maintain the filtered water cool without bringing it in direct contact with the ice and to increase the capacity of water-filters and water lters and coolers combined to any desired capacity.

A further object is to provide iltering mechanism which can be readily removed from a cooler when desired to clean the filter.

With these objects in view the invention consists in certain novel features of construction and combinations and arrangements of parts, as will be more fully hereinafter described, and pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a view in section illustrating my improvements.` Fig. 2 is a similar view of a modied form of my invention, and Figs. 3 and 4 are detail views of the construction shown in Fig. 1.

1 represents a container or receptacle or ordinary water-cooler of any approved material, preferably cylindrical in form and provided with a cover at the top and a spigot 18 in its wall, near the bottom. An inner receptacle 3, ot' porcelain-lined steel or other suitable material,is mounted in the receptacle 1 and is made Widest at its top, where it is almost the diameter of the receptacle 1, and gradually tapers or inclines to its lower end, where it is provided with the bottom 11, supported on lugs or legs 11, resting on the bottom of receptacle 1.

The bottom 11' is provided centrally with 5o a hole 15, and disks 22 and 23, having holes therein alining with hole 15, are secured to the upper and lower faces,-respectively, of

'bottom 1l by rivets, and the upper disk 22 is 4made centrally with an externally -screwthreaded collar 25 and a flange 26, surrounding the collar and inclosing a rubber ring or washer 2l, and a ,metal internally-screw threaded ring 2O is screwed onto collar 25 and jammed tight against washer 21 to make the joint water-tight. A vertical pipe 8, eX- ternally screw threaded at its lower end, is screwed onto the ring 2O and is provided on its upper end with a cap or closure 9. A cylindrical filter-receptacle 4 is supported on the bottom 11 of receptacle 3 and. surrounds pipe 8, and filtering-stones 12 and 12 which are mounted in the receptacle 4:, provided centrally with holes to receive pipe 8 and spaced apart by ring or blocks 14: to form a chamber 13 between them. The pipe 8 is provided between its ends with a peripheral shoulder 27 to assist in supporting stone 12. Both stones 12 and 12 are preferably cemented to pipe 8 and the receptacle 4, or they may be made with met-al sleeves 2-1 and 2d', as shown in Fig. 3, to tightly engage pipe 8, or they may be secured in place by other means, so as to insure the passage of the water only through the filtering-stones.

The receptacle d is provided with a convex cover 5 to-support the weight of the ice thereon, and said cover is made with a downwardly-projecting peripheral flange 28 to inclose the upper end of receptacle e and is also provided with a suitable handle 19. The liange 28 is made at diametrically-oppcsite points with T-shaped slots 29 for the reception of lugs 30 on the receptacle 4, and when the cover is turned slightly the lugs will lock the cover to the filter-receptacle 4l, as seen in Fig. 4, and when the handle 19 is turned the pipe 8 can be screwed into position in ring 2O or removed therefrom to permit the cleaning of the filtering-stones. i

In operation water and ice are placed in the receptacle 3, and water will" pass down through perforations in cover 5 and through filtering-stone 12 into chamber 13 and will also pass through perforations 10 to the lower end of receptacle e beneath stone 12 and from thence up through stone 12 and into chamber 13, and the filtered water in chamber 13 will pass through pertorations 7 into pipe 8 between the stones 12 and 12 and IOC) ing device can be made of any size wanted to fit the outside vessel holding filtered water.

Instead of constructing my improvements as above described I might make them as shown in Fig. 2. In this form of invention Il employ an ordinary water-cooler having top and a spigot 13, which latter has an upwardly-projecting extension 12n thereon at lits inner end to receive a vertical pipe 11,

having communication with a filtering-receptacle 2a by means of a coupling 8a, and a swinging arm 10iL is pivoted to the inner face of cooler 1 and adapted to hold pipe 1ld on extension 12a and onto a water-tight packing 9a, as shown, but permit the ready removal of said pipe 11:L and filtering-receptacle when desired. The receptacle 2a is provided near its p upper and lower ends, above and below couplings 8, with brackets 20, to which are setween them a chamber 7 for filtered water, with which pipe 11' communicates, the extensions 12 in said pipe being provided with perforations to receive the water therefrom and permit its escape through spigot 13a. A suitable covering 35, having handle 1&1:Lv thereon, is mounted on receptacle 2nl and is perforated, as shown at at The lower end of receptacle 2at below the lower stone 5 is also perforated, as shown at 6, and a pipe 19 communicates with the interior of receptacle 2LY between stones 5 and 5", as shown at 7", and projects up nearly to the top of receptacle 1 to permit the escape of air to make room for filtered water and to admit air for the free flow of water through the spigot. rihe operation of this form of my invention is as follows Water and ice are placed in receptacle 1, and the water will pass down through perforations Piu cover 3a and through the upper stone 5a and be filtered thereby and fall into chamber 7a. Water will also pass through perforations 6 belovtr the lower stone 5a and thence up through stone 5 into chamber 7, from which the filtered water can be readily drawn through spigot 13, heretofore described.

I use Tripoli stone; but I would have it un' derstood that the filtering-stones may be made of composition of matter, manufactured, or natural stone and that the shapes of the va-` rious receptacles may be changed withoutv departing from my invention, and various other slight changes and alterations might be resorted to in the general form and arrangement-s of the several parts described without departing from myinvention, and hence I do not wish to be limited to the precise details set forth, but consider myself at liberty to lnake such slight changes and alterations as fall fairly within the spirit and scope of my invention.

Having fullydescribed my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In a combined water cooler and filter, the combination with a receptacle for unfiltered water and a spigot, of a filter-receptacle located within the first-mentioned receptacle and communicating at both ends therewith, filtering-stones disposed within the filter-receptacle and spaced apart to form an intermediate chamber, and means for conducting filtered water from said intermediate chamber to the spigot.

2. In a combined water filter and cooler,- the combination with a receptacle for water' and ice, of a filter located within and spaced from the walls of said receptacle so as to be fully immersed in the water in the latter, said filter communicating at both ends with the receptacle, filtering-stones in said filter spaced apart forming a chamber between for filtered water and means for drawing off the' filtered water from between the stones.

3. In a combined water cooler and filter,- the combination with a receptacle for water and ice, of a filter-receptacle located in said first-mentioned receptacle so as to be immersed in the water therein and having per# forations in its lower end to receive water from the first-mentioned receptacle, a perfo# rated cover for the filter-receptacle and filtering-stones in the latter, spaced apart to form a chamber for filtered water.A

4. In a combined water cooler and filter the combination with a receptacle for unfiltered water and a receptacle for filtered water inclosing the same, of a filter-receptacle in said first-mentioned receptacle communicating at both ends with said receptacle,filtering-stones in said filterreceptacle spaced apart to form a chamber between them for filtered water and a pipe connecting said chamber between the filtering-stones with the receptacle for filtered water.

5. In a filter, the combination of the cylindrical receptacle having perforations near its bottom, a perforated cover for said receptacle, filtering stones in said receptacle spaced apart to form a chamber between them for filtered water and a pipe passing through said stones closed at one end and having perforations therein communicating with said chamber between the stones.

6. In a combined water cooler and filter, the combination with a receptacle for filtered water and a receptacle for unfiltered water disposed therein of a removable filter mounted in the said last-mentioned receptacle and communicating with the same at both ends, filteryrio avente filter-receptacle located therein, of a series of filtering-stones located Within said lter-receptacle and adapted to `filter water flowing therethrough from said first-named receptacle, and a pipe for discharging water filtered by said stones.

In testimony whereof I have signed this specication in the presence of two'subscribing witnesses.

JOSEPH P. MELCHER.

Witness-es;

J No. J. Snnnnnv F. A. CRANE. 

